Guus Hiddink

“I will not leave my job with the Russian national team as I do not like to leave it unfinished. If it was any other club my answer would be a straight no but Chelsea is an exceptional case because I have a very good relationship with the owner. I would like to help Chelsea in this situation if I could.” - Guus Hiddink, 2009

Guus Hiddink is the current coach of the Russian national football team.

MAGNETISM

Looking like a crumpled Bulldog puppy, Guus Hiddink is far from a matinee idol, but he has gained admiration the world over for his technical prowess in the dugout.

After his exploits with the South Korean national side in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the Dutchman was awarded honorary South Korean citizenship; he had a football stadium renamed in his honour and has free flights for life on Korean Airlines. Although not a sex-symbol the world over just yet, Hiddink can go to bed knowing that there is forever a corner of Asia where women hold him dear to their hearts.

SUCCESS

Despite being more famous today for his international coaching roles, Hiddink has also managed at club level at Real Madrid, Real Betis, Fenerbahce and Valencia amongst others, but his most successful spells were at Dutch PSV Eindhoven. With six domestic league titles and one European Cup in his two spells in charge at the club, his domestic record looks healthy, but is unproven away from his homeland.

Hiddink's international escapades with some of football's unlikeliest underdogs have seen his currency rise. First taking Holland to the semis of World Cup 98, he returned to domestic management before taking over the South Korean national side in preparation for hosting the 2002 World Cup. His supremely fit and regimented team exceeded all expectations, ending the tournament in fourth place.

Hiddink then took the Socceroos (Australia) to the 2006 World Cup finals for the first time in 32 years, before taking over as Russian coach that summer. He has crafted a hard working and technically skilled team that managed to reach the Euro 2008 semi-finals -- the best performance by a post-USSR team. His impressive CV led Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to hire him as a replacement for the under-performing Brazilian Phil Scolari.

Guus Hiddink Biography

Guus Hiddink was born November 8th, 1946 in Varsseveld, Holland and has a museum dedicated to him in his home town named the Guuseum.

guus hiddink playing days

Guus Hiddink spent most of his playing career in midfield for Dutch side De Graafschap, playing there from 1967-70 and 1972-76, with a brief unsuccessful spell at PSV Eindhoven in between. He then plied his trade for various teams in the North American Soccer League for a short while before returning to Holland to play for NEC in 1978. Returning to De Graafschap for one last hurrah in 1981, he retired from playing in 1982.

guus hiddink club management

Earning his managerial spurs at De Graafschap, Hiddink went on to become PSV Eindhoven’s assistant coach in 1984, before taking over the reins himself in 1987. His side would win the Dutch league three times and the European Cup for the first time in the club's history in 1988. He would have two relatively uneventful stints at Turkish side Fenerbahce and then Spanish side Valencia before taking on the role as national coach for Holland in 1995.

guus hiddink at holland

Guus Hiddink inherited a Dutch side packed with talented individuals, but one racked by the internal disputes perennially associated with the team. He took his team to the quarter-finals of Euro 1996 where they lost on penalties to France, but his strong-armed approach to his team of prima-donnas would dominate the news, when he sent Edgar Davids home from the tournament following an argument. He then qualified for the World Cup 98 with Holland, where his side played some of the more attractive football in the tournament before going out in the semis to Brazil. Following World Cup 1998, Hiddink returned to club football with two unfortunate spells at Real Madrid then Real Betis which saw him sacked twice in the space of two years.

guus hiddink international mercenary

With South Korea named as co-hosts for the 2002 World Cup, the search began for a national coach for the Korean team that could match the nation's expectations for progression in the first Asian World Cup. With a strictly regimented and super-fit team, his Korean side exceeded all expectations with historic wins over Poland, Portugal, Italy and Spain to reach the semi-finals. They would go on to lose in the semis to Germany, and then the third place play-off to Turkey, but in reaching fourth, Hiddink had become a national treasure. He was then given honorary South Korean citizenship, a private villa, free flights on Korean Airlines and free taxi rides anywhere in the country. The World Cup stadium in Gwangju was renamed in his honour as the Guus Hiddink Stadium.

A second successful stint at PSV Eindhoven in 2002-2006 would bring further domestic triumph for Hiddink with three more league titles, one Dutch Cup, and one Dutch Super Cup, making him the most successful domestic Dutch coach ever. While at PSV, Hiddink took on the dual role as coach of the Australian national side in 2005 in preparation for the 2006 World Cup. Hiddink ensured qualification through a penalty shoot out against Uruguay and became a cult hero in Australia for taking the Socceroos to the finals for the first time in 32 years. They progressed through to the knockout stages for the first time in their history, but cruelly went out to Italy 1-0 following a controversial, last-gasp penalty decision, in the dying seconds of the game.

Following Australia's exit from the tournament, Hiddink was announced as the Russian team coach in a deal allegedly bankrolled by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. His disciplined management style brought a new-found cohesion to the Russian team, and results became markedly improved. In the Euro 2008 qualifiers his team would out-perform the favourites England and go on to qualify for the finals along with Croatia. The team performed well and reached the semis before losing to the eventual winners Spain.

guus hiddink takes over at chelsea fc

Hiddink committed his future to Russia for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but with Luiz Felipe Scolari being sacked by Chelsea in February 2009, his name was associated with the Stamford Bridge job due to his links with Abramovich. On February 11, 2009, Guus hiddink took on the dual role of coaching both Chelsea and the Russian national team. Despite calls for him to stay with the Blues on a long-term basis, Hiddink left The Bridge at the end of the season in 2009 after guiding the team to a 2-1 victory over Everton in the FA Cup final. The Blues also narrowly missed out on a Champions League final appearance after going out in controversial circumstances to Barcelona, after several seemingly clear-cut penalty appeals for the Londoners were ignored by the referee.